


Moonlight

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: McHanzo [6]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Full Moon, Guilt, M/M, Memories, Moon, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-17 05:39:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16510370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Hanzo's relationship with the Moon had always been complicated, it had seen some of the worst and most life-changing moments of his life, but it had also let him into a side of McCree's life that no one else got to witness.





	Moonlight

   Hanzo stared up at the Moon dominating the night sky above him as he waited, eyes narrowed although his expression was one of contemplation rather than irritation, his hands curled into loose fists at his side. His relationship with the celestial body had always been complicated, and he almost missed the lights of the Watchpoint which normally provided him with a shield from the silvery light bearing down on him, almost…his gaze darting back to the thick thicket of bushes and trees behind him, able to make out the rustles and thuds from within the depths, a low growl that told him that the Moon was slowly working its magic on McCree and he sighed. He still had some time, and his gaze slowly drifted back to the Moon, silently considering it, hands twitching as he took a step out into the open and let the light wash over him before closing his eyes as he felt memories beginning to stir.

   As a child, he had loved the tales about rabbits living on the moon and making Mochi, remembering how he and Genji had spent long nights at their bedroom window just staring up at the Moon and telling themselves that they could see the rabbits at work, their mother’s soft laughter a painful echo in the back of his mind and he opened his eyes once more to stare up at the Moon. He missed those days…

   Days which had ended the night she had died. Her health had been failing for weeks and they had been warned to watch over her even though they were children, and yet they hadn’t had the heart to stop her when she had insisted on joining them out on the wall as they watched the full moon, still looking for their rabbits. _We should have stopped her_ , the thought cut through his memories and for a moment he had to close his eyes, remembering her peaceful smile as she listened to their chatter, her voice, barely audible as she told them she loved them and that they should never stop believing. Then she had fallen, like a puppet whose strings had been cut and all he could remember was voices raised in anger and grief, Genji wailing beside him, and the bright light of the moon as it shone down on them, unheeding of the tragedy it looked down on.

   He had never spoken of the rabbits again, never spent long nights staring at the Moon, barely giving it any attention beyond a dark glare as he went to bed each night. Genji still clung to the tale though and would frequently plead with him to join him late at night when they were free of their guards and teachers, but every time he looked at the silvery light all he could see was his mother’s empty eyes and so he refused, unable to do anything as that rejection seeped into the distance that sprang up between them over the years.

   He opened his eyes, unable to hide from what had happened after, even though it now lay behind him. That distance that had sprung from that fateful night had only been the beginning, growing steadily at the Clan pushed them in different directions, until the man he had faced down in the courtyard on that fateful night had been little more than a stranger. Still he had tried to stop it, tried to stop Genji. Pleaded with him to stop rebelling, to toe the line, the moon hanging heavy and expectant in the sky above them. His words had fallen on deaf ears, just as Genji’s requests for him to watch the Moon, to rebel, to be a brother had gone unheard over the years, only this time the outcome hadn’t been angry words that lead to silence and distance, but angry words that spilled over into violence. Under the light of the same Moon that had witnessed his mother’s death, he had tried to kill his brother.

    He shifted uncomfortably, hands clenching tighter and tighter until he could feel his nails digging into his skin, knowing that were it not for Overwatch and their technological capabilities he would have succeeded. It was a familiar thought, a weight that never quite left his shoulders despite his brother’s forgiveness and the new life he had carved for himself and he sighed, tilting his head up further, wondering what the Moon made of all those events. It had seen his worst moments, his darkest actions, but it had also witnessed the night he had been offered a choice, shining bright behind his brother who could have taken his life and yet had offered him a new path instead. A chance he had nearly refused to take and there was a tremor in his hands as he admitted that to himself, remembering the long nights spent staring up at the sky, wondering if the Genji he had seen was little more than a ghost. Nights spent convincing himself that he wouldn’t be wanted, even if it wasn’t a trick.

   A soft growl from behind him would normally have had him springing for his bow which was resting against a nearby tree, but he knew this growl, recognised the exasperation in the sound and despite the path his thoughts had been taking he felt his lips quirking up as he turned to look at his companion.

“Jesse…” As always, his breath caught for a moment as he watched his partner prowling towards him, russet fur gleaming in the bright light of the full Moon, the tawny eyes that were now a burnished gold burning into him. As a man McCree was ruggedly handsome, but as a wolf he was beautiful. A soft huff that sounded remarkably close to McCree’s usual warm chuckle brought colour to his cheeks as he realised he had said that aloud and he ducked his head, flustered. There had been a time when every word that came from his lips was closely guarded, thought through often to the point of overthinking but with McCree it was different. With McCree it had always been easy, sometimes too easy to just speak.

   With his head down he was caught by surprise when McCree’s nose appeared beneath his chin, nudging him gently until he looked up and found himself staring into liquid gold. It always amazed him how much of McCree he could see in this form, the emotion he could show even without a voice to utter the words, but right now as he took the concerned gaze focused on him he almost wished that McCree wasn’t so human in this form. “I’m fine,” he murmured in an attempt to reassure his partner, although it sounded weak to his own ears and he was unsurprised when McCree growled softly at him, nudging him again more pointedly and giving him a look that demanded honesty. “I-I was just thinking…memories.” He didn’t need to say anything else because suddenly McCree was there, pressing against him, whining in the back of his throat as he twined himself around Hanzo.

_I’m here. Don’t think about it. You’re not that man anymore._

   Words that McCree had uttered a hundred times or more, usually late at night when Hanzo was unable to escape the nightmares that still hounded him in his sleep, leaving them both awake and it was only those words and McCree’s warm embrace that would stop Hanzo from bolting. He could hear the words clearly now, whispered in his ear, McCree’s voice heavy with sleep but as focused as it was when he was facing down their enemies and Hanzo closed his eyes, letting them wash over him as his fingers crept into russet fur as the wolf pressed closer.

“I know…” And he did know. He hadn’t believed it at first. In fact, he had stubbornly fought against McCree, refusing to belief that anyone, especially someone like McCree. Someone who had seen exactly what he had done to his brother, helping Genji through the worst of his recovery, hearing all the details long before he had even met Hanzo, would want to be friends let alone something more. Yet McCree had been there from the moment he had warily set foot in Gibraltar, still not believing the chance he had been offered, but unable to back away from the thought of seeing Genji again and being able to make amends.

    He had pushed him away from the start. Given McCree the cold shoulder for months, rejected every approach whether it was a simple smile, an offer to train together or a flirty comment, and yet… his fingers tightened on McCree’s fur. Despite everything he had done McCree had never given up, never walked away even when Hanzo had opened his mouth with the intention to hurt, even when he had seen pain in the tawny eyes that couldn’t be hidden or come across McCree drinking by himself late at night looking tired and defeated. It didn’t seem to matter what happened, or what he did or said, because McCree always came back stronger than ever. Hanzo closed his eyes, fighting against the stinging sensation that always rose when he thought back to what he could’ve lost, only the feel of McCree pressing against him reassuring him that he hadn’t, and his voice shook. “I know…”

   He did know, it was hard not to with how much time had passed since then. With McCree, always there at his side, always returning to him no matter how bad a mission went. With McCree revealing this side to him, trusting him not to flee, trusting him to be there on the nights when he shifted, on those nights that he had admitted one night had always been spent alone, even when he was surround by friends and family. He did know and yet at times it was hard to look back at what he had been, what he had done, and understand how he could have been given so much.

   He couldn’t even pinpoint the exact moment that he had surrendered, the moment he had had finally let down the walls when he realised that McCree wasn’t going to give up.

   He knew there had been a day when he had slumped on the plane, exhausted from a mission that had nearly ended in defeat, body aching and heavy, stinging in a dozen places from wounds that were just making themselves know. He could remember with vivid clarity, sliding sideward on the seat, knowing, trusting that he would be caught. That McCree would be there. And he was, taking Hanzo’s weight without complaint, voice soft and soothing although it did little to hide the panic underneath, hands gentle as he checked Hanzo’s wounds. Lips even gentler when he had traced the path his shaking fingers took. It had only been there, half out of it with pain and exhaustion that Hanzo had realised that this wasn’t new, eyes widening as he realised that McCree was always there and that at some point he had let him in without even realising it.

   He had spent the rest of the trip home and the following couple of days when he had been sentenced to bedrest, apologising to McCree for fighting him for so long and for not realising when things had changed. And they really had he realised, spying items that didn’t belong to him scattered around his room, sitting there as naturally as McCree was sat by his side, a bandaged hand cradled between both of his and Hanzo had looked away. Waiting for anger, for disappointment. Waiting for McCree to finally realise that his efforts deserved a much better prize than whatever someone like Hanzo could give him. Apologies that had been soothed away with gentle kisses and even gentler caresses, reassurances whispered in his ears.

Acceptance.

“I know,” he whispered again, not knowing what else to say with everything that was welling up at the moment, ducking so that he could bury his face into russet fur. It felt like coming home. The warm, musky scent flooding his nose and he smiled, realising that beneath the smell of the wolf he could still detect traces of ash and the aftershave that McCree had put on that morning. Slowly he began to move his fingers through McCree’s fur, gently combing through the thick strands, easing out tangles that McCree had managed to pick up emerging from his transformation spot in the bushes, letting out a watery chuckle when the wolf groaned in appreciation at the attention.

   They remained like that for a few minutes, McCree grumbling in the back of his throat, pressing more and more against Hanzo and growling if his fingers dared to stop even for a few seconds. Hanzo didn’t mind the demands, obediently resuming his attentions, working his way along McCree’s side and smiling when he felt the fluffy tail beginning to wag. He should have recognised the warning signs and the slow but steady increase of the weight resting on him, but he was still distracted by his thoughts, and the feeling of home, of acceptance that came from being here and surrounded by McCree. Which was why he was caught by surprise when McCree relaxed completely against him, the added weight too much for him to support and with a startled yelp he found himself falling backwards with the wolf following.

“J-esse…” He groaned poking at McCree who was now sprawled on top of him, scowling at the huff of laughter that greeted him and the amusement in the dancing eyes that met his gaze a moment later. “Get off me.” It didn’t come out as forcefully as he wanted, because even though he was trapped and barely able to breathe under the weight, he wanted this closeness. He wanted McCree to be there. It didn’t stop him from making a disgusted noise when McCree turned and licked his cheek, not that McCree seemed fazed by the response, licking him again before carefully manoeuvring so that he was still sprawled across Hanzo but no longer pressing all his weight onto Hanzo’s chest, clearly looking for approval as he tentatively licked the end of Hanzo’s nose. “Thank you…” Hanzo whispered, deciding that he could put up with the licks when he felt McCree’s tail wagging at his response, scowl slowly melting into a smile when he met McCree’s gaze and the question in his eyes. “We can stay like this…”

    That earned him a thorough licking, and he was glad that they were away from base and he wouldn’t have to worry about his brother sneaking around to get photos of him like this. It was hard enough to deny McCree when they were at the base and both human, it was harder like this and he knew that Genji already had enough blackmail material to last him for a lifetime.

   Eventually though McCree settled, resting his head on top of Hanzo’s chest and sighing softly as Hanzo reached up to play with his ears. As he lay there, losing himself in the sensation, Hanzo couldn’t stop his gaze from wondering up to the moon hanging full and heavy above them. He didn’t want to thank it, not after everything it had seen and the occasions it had marked and yet it was that same moon which gave him this side of McCree, and as he felt a gentle nudge he couldn’t help but nod at the Moon. Not quite a ‘thank you’, but close, before he shifted his attention back to McCree, massaging the twitching ears and listening to the pleased rumble that vibrated through them.

 _Thank you_ …


End file.
